After a meeting with German Defense Minister Angret Kramp-Karenbauer, the first member of Biden’s government to visit Germany, he said at a joint press conference that the troop buildup of about 500 people would be carried out this fall. Austin asserted that Germany is one of his country’s most loyal allies, sharing the values of freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law. With the deployment of new units to the Wiesbaden area, Lloyd Austin said, the US Defense Forces will be able to prevent conflicts more effectively than before, “or, if necessary, fight and win.”
Concerning that the previous Washington government, led by Republican President Donald Trump, had planned to withdraw a third of the approximately 36,000 troops stationed in Germany, Austin said that the planning process has stalled and that the troop buildup has expressed an American commitment to Germany and NATO. As a whole. Angret Kramp-Karenbauer confirmed that it was an honor for her country that the US Secretary of Defense led her first official European trip to Germany, and expressed her happiness that it was no longer the withdrawal of troops but the strengthening of the United States. Being in Germany was on the agenda. He said they would do everything in their power to ensure the soldiers who come with their families find a good home, at least temporarily, and keep good memories of Germany.
With regard to the increase in defense spending and the external operations of the Bundeswehr – the German army – Annegret Kramp-Karenbauer emphasized that Germany owes its freedom and security to the solidarity of its allies and exchanged this solidarity. Regarding the North Stream 2 natural gas pipeline, which was opposed by Washington and viewed in Berlin as a purely commercial investment and independent of politics, Kramp-Karrenbauer indicated that he saw an opportunity to satisfy US demands to halt the project. As he said, the issue of suspended construction could be addressed. And if Nord Stream 2 – the North Stream pipeline system that supplies Russia with Russian natural gas to Germany bypassing Ukraine and Poland via a pipeline to the bottom of the Baltic Sea – “gas supplies should depend on Russia’s behavior,” the German defense minister said.
